Microsoft is launching the general availability of Entra Verified ID, the newest member to join the Microsoft’s portfolio of Entra identity solutions, that enables Azure AD customers to issue, request and verify credentials to represent proof of employment, education or other claims.
According to Microsoft, each credential issued with Entra Verified ID is signed with cryptographic keys that the user owns and controls, and credentials can be presented and validated even if the issuing institution no longer exists.
In addition to issuing credentials to verify proof of employment, education and other claims, Entra Verified ID credentials are standards-based, removing the complexity for developers. Applications can request and verify the authenticity of credentials from any organization using APIs included as part of the service, Microsoft says.
Users can manage and present their credentials using Microsoft Authenticator, enabling users to control who can access them. Microsoft says it will be adding additional capabilities, such as selective disclosure, derived claims and other measures to prevent correlation.
Uses can also recover their credentials using a mnemonic-based scheme, but Microsoft says it is looking for partners to develop a more user-friendly means of enabling recovery. Users will also be able to choose a circle of trusted parties to help enable recovery.
Microsoft says it has developed a standards-based interop profile in partnership with IBM, Workday, Ping and Mattr so developers can build compatible digital wallets.
In addition to helping governments issue digital credentials to verify foundational identity attributes, the company also says it is partnering with 10 leading identity verification partners so enterprises can remotely verify foundational identity attributes across 192 countries, 6,000 identification documents and thousands of attributes for organizational attributes and individuals.
“End-users can present these credentials to quickly start a job, apply for a loan, or access secure apps and services—without having to repeatedly share their sensitive information,” the company says in a Tech Community blog.
According to Microsoft, customers during the preview period used Entra Verified ID to help with remote onboarding of new employees, collaboration across business boundaries, remote learning, access to high-value apps and account recovery.
With the API, customers can integrate verifiable credentials in their existing apps and improve verifiability and compliance. Apps and services could be hosted on-prem or on Azure, AWS or Google Cloud Platform, the company says.
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